The internet (also known as the “world wide web”, or simply “the web”) is a vast global computer network that has lately become exceedingly popular. A typical user of the internet access “web pages” via a browser program executing on that user's computer—a “client computer”—by typing the address of the web page into a location area of the browser's user interface. Web page addresses are in the form of universal resource locators, or URL's. For example, the web page of Netscape Communications Corporation may be accessed by the user typing in the URL “for the Netscape web site” into the location area of the browser's user interface. A major drawback of the internet is that untrustworthy information is sometimes (and very easily) published via the internet, and users have no quick and reliable way to distinguish trustworthy information from untrustworthy information.
One way to determine the reliability of information on one site of the internet is to view other “related” sites to see what these other sites say about the same subject matter. Alexa Internet of San Francisco, Calif., provides a software product that integrates with a browser to present such related information to the user. The Alexa software product determines which sites to list as related information by performing link and text analysis of a large number of web pages to determine similarities between a page being viewed and other pages; by studying patterns of web use; and from user suggestions. A significant disadvantage of the Alexa approach is that, once a browser is initially configured to interact with the Alexa service, the user only enjoys one point of view, that determined by Alexa Internet, as to what is related information.
What is desired is a browser that allows a user to easily enjoy multiple competing points of view as to what is “related information”. Furthermore, it is desired that whether the browser presents one or multiple points of view, that the user can easily choose which point(s) of view are presented.